Morning Bell: Obamacare’s Dreadful Anniversary

Two years ago today, President Barack Obama signed into law Obamacare, a 2,700-page bill that will radically alter America’s health care system and wreak havoc on medical costs, quality of care, and fundamental rights in ways that are beyond the scope of our imagination.

Much of what was contained in Obamacare was hatched behind closed doors where not even the slightest ray of light could find its way in. Even the men and women in Congress who were entrusted to represent the people cast their votes blindly, not knowing what lay in store. As even then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) famously admitted, “We have to pass the bill so you can find out what is in it.”

The American people have already spoken, however. They want this law repealed and tossed out, as we have seen in poll after poll for the past two years. None of the activities being planned by the White House to gussy up this law will likely make a dent on the unpopularity of Obamacare.

Though even today, two years later, much of Obamacare remains to be written by unelected bureaucrats in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), we know some of what’s contained in the law and the ramifications for the American people. Most broadly, Obamacare rips vast powers from the hands of individual patients and their families, and it vests control in Washington bureaucrats. And the costs are far greater than the Administration claim — heading as high as $2.134 trillion with millions Americans dependent on government for their health care.

Last week, the Congressional Budget Office predicted that under the President’s health care law, 20 million Americans could lose their employer-sponsored health benefits and the individual and employer penalties related to the mandates could hit $221 billion. At the time of passage, many people warned as much.

But wait, there’s more.

For the last two years, Heritage has continued to dissect Obamacare and its poisonous side effects. Like a virulent disease spiraling out of control, Obamacare inflicts harm on all that it touches.

Seniors will suffer as Obamacare robs savings from Medicare in order to fund new government spending while threatening seniors’ access to care and ending Medicare as we know it. On top of that, as Heritage’s Alyene Senger writes, Obamacare makes extreme cuts to Medicare Advantage, which allows seniors to receive their Medicare benefits through a private health care plan of their choice. And it puts a group of 15 unelected officials in charge of finding cuts in Medicare to meet new spending limits.

Young Americans will suffer as well. Though the President brags that his law allows young adults to stay on their parents’ health plans until age 26, they ultimately will face higher premiums, perverse incentives to stay uninsured, and the burden of paying the extraordinary costs that the law brings with it.

These episodes are rapidly becoming the status quo of Obamacare implementation, with a familiar and predictable plot line: an unaccountable bureaucracy releases complicated rules on morally fraught healthcare decisions, runs roughshod over Americans’ moral concerns and personal freedom, and then tries to obscure the flaws of the legislation with accounting legerdemain and limited disclosure.

Last week, a CBS/New York Times poll on the HHS mandate showed strong support for religious liberty, with 57 percent of respondents saying that religious employers should not be coerced to violate their doctrine and conscience by providing coverage for abortion-inducing drugs and contraception in their health plans, compared to 36 percent who thought they should. A sizable majority — 51 percent to 40 percent — favored a religious and moral exemption for all employers.

Today at noon Americans will rally in 140 locations across the country to protest Obamacare’s trampling of religious liberty. In Washington, D.C., they’ll gather right in front of HHS and demand that the moral compass for personal health decisions be pried out of the hands of unelected bureaucrats and put back in the hands of the people.

And on Monday, the Supreme Court will begin hearing three days of oral arguments on the constitutionality of Obamacare’s controversial individual mandate, which for the first time ever forces Americans to buy a product — health care — against their will. This provision is the core of the President’s health care law, and it is a direct attack on individual liberty. Unless the Court strikes down Obamacare in its entirety, Congress must stand ready to finish the job. The American people should continue to make their voices heard, demand a repeal of Obamacare, and insist on real health care reform that increases access without forcing Americans to fall under government control.

Ken – we can't afford to get sick with raised premiums and high deductables. If I was unemployed or considered poor, the Obama government would take care of me and all of my medical bills! What an incentive! Being in the middle to upper class (I love to classify myself since Obama likes class warefare), the current administration does not provide any help but does provide more road blocks and hurdles to work through.

WHY OzBAMA CARE GETS NO RESPECT
Why should a bill that
socialized medicine (worldwide failure we all should know),
required locking out the opposing Party to pass it,
blocked voters from viewing it,
added over 100 unelected boards and panels,
heaped on new taxes or fees,
forced citizens to buy it or be fined.
was lied about as far as its cost and rationing intentions…

have ANY acceptance by those it forced itself upon?
BTW, its such a wonderful bill that federal workers, including the royal congress are EXEMPT!

My anger at Obamacare is that the first 1000 pages were online at thomas.gov for several months before the vote. I downloaded it and read the first 600 pages, then spent a lot of time writing my rep and two senators (all Dems) bringing parts of the bill to their attention, asking questions and begging them to vote no, send it back and redo it as REAL heathcare. I asked them about the 100+ new agencies to oversee the program, how much would that cost? How much duplication? I asked why the president, VP, senate and congress were all exempted from the bill. If its not good enough for them, why is it supposed to be good enough for us? Why was the IRS hiring 30,000 new agents to oversee our compliance to the program? No answers, just standard notes that they had received my emails. As it got closer to signing, I begged them to please, please read at least 100 pages before they voted on it. Just before the vote, they added another 1800 or so pages to it.

Part 2 of my comment: No answers from the reps until they voted for it, then glowing emails on "how wonderful it was that now all Americans had excellent healthcare", etc. I wasn't the only one who begged and pleaded, I learned later that others had done the same thing all over the country and got the same response. After the signing, it was learned that none of our elected reps read it. Something that major, and they couldn't be bothered to read it…We have been betrayed by those we elected to represent us….This is all the more reason that we have to "clean house and senate" in 2012.

I truly hate this socialized medicine bill. I fear the quality of the healthcare I currently receive will be lost forever…and I believe majority of Americans feel the same way. This is government FORCING something down the throats of the people that they repeatedly have said they don't want! I'm praying the Supreme Court Jusctices will deem this whole thing illegal. I will sign HF petition which will be the 3rd petition I've signed in the past 3 years. Do they do any good? Keep praying folks!

what the heck, government tool. You're discriminating yourself! If you don't have an account you can get an account all by yourself like everyone else that has an account! Shame on your ignorance, self pity and cheating your mind's ability!

The dems are have been trying to blame Romney and the Heritage Foundation for Obamacare. They say you guys are the ones who first proposed the individual mandate and that the whole thing was conceived on that. Could you comment on the history of this mess?

Today at noon Americans will rally in 140 locations across the country to protest Obamacare's trampling of religious liberty. In Washington, D.C., they'll gather right in front of HHS and demand that the moral compass for personal health decisions be pried out of the hands of unelected bureaucrats and put back in the hands of the people.
That funny when as we speak the GOP is knocking down the doors of bedrooms across America, demanding women to submit!

The mandate itself poses a sweeping and significant threat to fundamental principles that are tried and tested to make our Republic the best and most compassionate experiment in human government ever devised. Period.

Anyone who argues against this…………doesn't know what they are talking about.

Mark it well, Mr. President: November is coming. You may talk yourself up with all the "progressive" rhetoric you can muster, but you can't cover up your ignorance with bluff and bluster very much longer. The American People are not that stupid.

The image of Pelosi standing there and stating that we will just need to read the bill to figure out what is inside it – still makes me vomit! How stupid do our Senators and Congressmen think we are in this country. Then today, the add that has a lady from NM saying that she can now get a "free" mamogram because of Obamacare – excuse me but I just helped pay for that! Yes this type of exam should be available but why should everyone pay for this? Obamacare must go!

It all goes back to the ballot box. Even if Supreme Ct. says law is unconstitutional, we have politicos in office who will back door, rule and reg this idea, until we have single payer health care. that is ultimate goal.

In addition to all the problems ObamaCare seems to create it also contains within its 2,700 pages a provision that permits the government to have access to your checking accounts and, potentially, your retirement accounts. How quick will they be to empty those accounts?

Not ot mention forcing everyone to donate to abortions. This will make me an accomplice to a practice I abhor and I will have nothing to say about it.
The whole thing is full of death panels. Our freedom is being trampled on and destroyed.

Morning Blend mentions that Obamacare was somehow written by HHS staff. Wasn't the entire thing written by those in the Apollo Alliance, George Soros' funded socialist group? It had to take a long time to write 2,700 pages–and with such detailed points. Obamacare is far more than a health care document. It interferes with every aspect of an individual's life. Only deeply leftist, evil minds could have come up with it.

Folks the upcoming election is the most important election in the past 50 years. Our liberty is at stake. We must turn back to God and divine providence. The Government is not our God nor is the Obama administration his messengers. We have to get back to freedom of choice and taking responcibility for our own actions.

Do not expect the Supreme Court to take into account the practicalities or the economics of ObamaScam. Do not. They will play around with the nitpicking details of the law with no considerations for justice or equity. What with the monstrous proliferation of laws and judgements by the courts, the system is unreliable. Mr Dooley said it best, "The Supreme Court follows the election returns." It is entirely possible that the election returns they will follow are those of 2008.. We can pray and hope, but what we get will be deserved.. I refer to the over 50 million dead of the Abortion Holocaust. Sackcloth and ashes?

Go ahead, Mike Brownfield, kick the corpse. Having torpedoed the only possibilities for REAL change in the way health care is delivered in the U.S. and what that delivery would cost for individual coverage, it's only fitting that those on the Right should ceremonially kick the remains of health care reform, "Obamacare." After all, it's but a shadow of what was envisioned by those who favored Single Payer or its poorer cousin, Public Option. The reforms that would bring substantial control to spiraling health care costs, bring into the fold most of the 40+million uninsured currently weighing down the country's health care system, eliminate exclusions from coverage based upon health issues, assure portability of coverage when jobs are changed or lost (a more and more frequent occurrence), and eliminate employer-provided health care plans which account for great variability, job to job, of quality of coverage. All of these lost as "Socialism," thanks mainly to those on the Right and their allies in the health care industry. And, while the ongoing war rages year after year over the health care system in America, it is your pockets, Mr. and Mrs America, that continue to be picked.
$7, 000+ per year per person is the current average cost of health insurance in the United States, more than twice the international average and without measurable results warranting the extra spent. While the Right continues the obstructionism to health care reform plans put forth from the Left it has engaged in since the Clintons launched their ill-fated attempt at reform, governors talk consortiums, federal legislators talk free-market solutions, tort reform and a variety of nibble-around-the-edges measures to bring health care costs down, and some organizations and groups have even put out their versions of health care reform plans. Nothing I've seen–and I do pay attention–comes close to reforming our broken health care system sufficiently. And every year that passes, the pocket-picking continues., Mr. and Mrs. America.
So, Mike Brownfield, kick the corpse, "Obamacare." While you're at it, though, just once in a while rehearse for us details of THE plan that will bring health care costs down significantly, greatly improve accessibility, create portability of coverage, cover all Americans so that we're not burdened with the hidden costs of the uninsured, and so on. "Saving the American Dream" (Heritage Foundation) has already paved some of the way for you, but there's a whole lot more paving to be done, and from my vantage point, it looks like the hardest paving to do.

Obama care is not intended to decrease health costs for all. If something is perceived to be free or entitled they will be devastatingly disappointed with Obama care. Obama care is not there to save all lives but to ration services and eliminate the elderly and the terminally ill from treatment. Obama care is not there to improve health care for all Americans and immigrants because THAT would be costly. Unless you work in health care or have elderly family members you have no idea how dysfunctional this Obama care idea is.

Thanks for at least making an effort to get someone in these tirades to listen to a bit of reason and factual information. Best of luck in getting them to read past the first sentence. Even the one reply is absolutely off base on what the Healthcare Initiative provides now and in the future. U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth (KY) has just challenged U.S. Senator "NO" (Mitch McConnell) to an open debate on the healthcare plan because Senator "NO" has so consistently taken the Heritage position of spreading wildly incorrect, misleading and actually false "information" about what they all so derogatorily call "Obamacare". This is in the face of the fact that enough Reflubs voted for it to pass it in Congress. Best wishes.

The best part of this 2,700 page swindle is "who wrote it"? Legislation should be drafted by Congressional Members paid to perform that elected job; not some invisible, outside third party, communist organization with no oversight or actual fiduciary responsibility to the voters.

The second best part is the obvious fact that Obamacare is about centralized control and implementation of central planning, not about health. There are no successful examples of central planning anywhere in the world, yet here we go. Baaaaaa! Baaaaaa! That's my Sheeple call.

As far as The Supreme Circus goes…who cares what this bunch of treasonous political hacks does? They wouldn't recognize a court if it fell on 'em.

How is it ,that a law that affects every single person in the USA, can be signed and passed and not read by any of the voters, including the Democratic Speaker of the house and Democratic leader of the Senate?
NOT ONE Republican Vote.
Nancy Pelosi, not the brightest bulb in Congress, brags to the American people that " we have to pass it to find out what is in it".
The Supreme Court should demand it be read, in public,by everyone who will vote on it….then revote. Also, the math should be done correctly, not only the CBO,who has no choice but to use any phony numbers given to them.
It is time to use real math for everything,ie, true unemployment numbers, true jobs created, you get the idea.
It is time for the President of the USA to tell the truth and be accountable within minutes to questions from the public and media. Media needs to be reducated to ask important questions about the topic at hand of both parties. No one gets a pass Experts need to be able to correct any questionable statements immediately,preferably on the spot.
We as a country,need to get back to honesty. We are a wonderful, fabulous people. We can handle the truth.
Remember, the government works for us. We pay their salaries. We hire and can fire them with our votes. They are accountable to us.

I do not access Facebook since it is an anti-privacy organization.
I am against Obamacare. There should be another lawsuit filed that allows citizens to purchase
there own insurance and not be forced to pay for government insurance. This would force
Obamacare to offer full coverage or be disbanded. This would offer greater freedom of choice and
may just be constitutional.

If this bill is upheld, Insurance cost will sky-rocket for those of us who pay our own way, People on Medicare who don't continue to pay for supplemental Ins, and this is even questionable, will recieve little or no care and be encouraged to "DIE" , same will be for children, and any person with a severe medical problem, this includes Cancer dianosis. ALl the doctors I have talked to as well as us nurses, HATE this bill, it goes against everything we believe in. and for some it is infringing on our religous liberties, I am strongly against abortion and forcing Birth control on people that don't want it.

The government shall provide all citizens with free and equal health care, including all tests, treatments, medications, therapies, procedures, surgeries, hospitalizations, and long-term care that:
1) are legal and approved by the government,
2) are done according to government standards by government licensed physicians and practitioners,
3) are not subject to malpractice claims or lawsuits of any sort, and
4) are affordable within an overall government health care program budget that does not exceed 15% of the government’s GDP.

Government licensed physicians and practitioners who work solely within the government health care program shall be exempt from any need for professional malpractice insurance of any sort: they shall be personally immune in all cases from any legal claims or lawsuits that could result from patients who suffer injury, bad outcomes, or death while under their care. However, such physicians and practitioners shall be subject to loss of their license for professional malpractice and/or negligence, and may also be subject to criminal charges, and to their penalties if found guilty.

Personal health insurance and long-term care insurance shall be unnecessary, except to provide desired coverage for experimental care and extraordinary end-of-life care that is not approved by the government program.

The government health care program shall be paid for by two dedicated and approximately equal taxations: a national sales tax (excluding food and energy purchases) and a corporate and personal tax on equity in real property based on government assessed value (excluding hospitals, schools, governments, and approved religious organizations).

* * *

Who needs 2,700 pages of small print when five clearly-stated sentences will solve the problem?

Yes, solve the problem by amending the U.S. Constitution to guarantee Universal Health Care. Just do it!

The poison in the well is the unavoidable unholy collusion among: 1) health insurance companies, 2) medical malpractice insurance companies, and 3) lawyers who file lawsuits against health care providers. My proposed amendment zeros-out all three of those groups — literally kicks them out of the whole U.S. health care equation. It can be done. It should be done.

Furthermore, my proposed Universal Health Care amendment completely removes health care costs from all U.S. businesses and from the entire U.S. education system. College and university students should not be saddled with paying health insurance premiums for faculty and staff in their tuition costs, but right now a major portion of their tuition costs are just that. It is an outrage!

GET THIS STRAIGHT: my proposed amendment to the U.S. Constitution guaranteeing Universal Health Care comes out of conservative thinking. Quite frankly, my solution is the only solution that will truly solve the problem. Obamacare is a disaster — a complete sell-out to the U.S. health insurance industry.

Ask yourself: What value does a health insurance company bring to health care that in any way justifies the profit it derives from health insurance premiums? The answer to that question is: Absolutely no value at all, not even one little bit.

Ponder that, then read all of my three linked commentaries. It is not yet too late for America, but the end is fast approaching. We must get our act together — now!

The obamacare is nothing more than a giant step into socialism. And a fast downhill ride from a free America. There is much more hidden in this program than health care The health care part is mostly a coverup.

I must have written something that wasn't acceptable on my first comments. I mentioned that Facebook had anti-privacy apps on their website. That is why I do not use Facebook. I also mentioned that there should be a lawsuit against Government imposed and mandated insurances. If people do not choose a Government option then they should not have to pay for it. I do want a comprehensive health care plan that gives people good and adequate coverage for all enhancement, protections and health supporting procedures. Competitive private health care plans can accomplish this goal.
Currently the Supreme Court seems to be stuffed with Obama Care supporters. So I won't be too surprised with the outcome.

Why should we trust the government to run any program. Look what they have done with the Post Office, the railroads, Social Security, Medicare, our schools, etc. Your doctor is more important to you than your congress man and yet your congressman can appoint a committee of non elected and non medical people to tell your doctor how to or how not to treat you, what medicines he can prescribe or tests. We did need a few things fixed in the medical area, but not taking total control. On top of that we cannot afford the Affordable Care act aka Obamacare.

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